


The Empty Planet

by you_cannot_define_me



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: The Original Series
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Aroace Spock, Aromantic Character, Aromantic Spock, Asexual Character, Asexual Spock, Gen, Leonard "Bones" McCoy & Spock Friendship, Queerplatonic Relationships, They're on a mission and everything goes wrong, aromantic asexual spock, but for now I've made nothing concrete, but it's a long journey to see how they can make it right, we will see about my child Leonard, yet again I write a lot of angst but I swear it has a happy ending
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-28
Updated: 2020-12-05
Packaged: 2021-03-04 10:55:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,588
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24968569
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/you_cannot_define_me/pseuds/you_cannot_define_me
Summary: Spock, Bones, and a small landing party have been sent to the surface of a planet for a routine mission. But when the rest of the landing crew disappears, and communication to the Enterprise is lost, Spock and Bones must work together to save everyone they can--including each other.
Relationships: Leonard "Bones" McCoy & Spock
Comments: 15
Kudos: 21





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Howdy! This is my first multi-chapter Star Trek fic. No idea how long it's gonna be, but thanks to groovyfluxie on Tumblr for the inspiration!

"'Routine'. I should have known not to trust that word," grumbled McCoy for the fourth time in as many minutes. "'Don't worry, Bones, it's a routine away mission. Don't worry, we're just flinging your particles all over space, but nothing could possibly go wrong!'" He kicked a pebble in front of his foot and watched it bounce down the steep cliff he and Spock were sat on top of.

"Doctor," Spock began, his long-suffering Vulcan patience slowly thinning, "there is always something that could go wrong. It is the duty of--"

"Damn it, Spock, I know! Alright? I know." McCoy sank down onto a sizeable rock and sighed heavily. He was quiet for a moment, and the sound of the wind scraping over the cliff face drowned out the echo of his shouts.

Spock turned away and busied himself with his tricorder. It had been several hours since they had lost communication with the Enterprise, for reasons still unclear. As the sun sank lower over the distant horizon, it began to seem increasingly likely that they would not be beamed aboard before nightfall; the least Spock could do would be to ascertain why. But, just as they had every fifteen minutes prior, the tricorder readings provided no insight.

Suddenly, Spock's communicator pinged. He flipped it open in a smooth motion, glancing at McCoy as he did so, who was already on his feet. "Spock here," he said.

"Commander Spock," came the garbled reply, "Lieutenant Barnes here--we've run into trouble--Ensign Chase is down--" The transmission broke off abruptly. Spock sent back, "Lieutenant, do you copy? What is your location?" Silence. "Lieutenant Barnes, can you read me? Repeat, what is your location?" Several tense seconds went by, but there was no response. Spock snapped the communicator shut and replaced it on his belt, folding his hands behind his back.

McCoy looked at him urgently. "Spock, we've got to find them! They could be dying out there!" Another gust of wind seemed to emphasize his point.

Spock met his gaze. "Doctor, I am forced to remind you that we have no idea where they are. We do not know the terrain, or the nature of any life forms potentially inhabiting it. It would be illogical, and highly dangerous, to venture out without any information."

McCoy whirled on him. "And I'll remind you, Mr. Spock, that you sent those men out there. And now you're leaving them there to die!" Furious, the doctor stormed up to the impassive first officer. "I can't believe you. Utterly without empathy, showing a callous disregard for human life--a human who behaved like you would be called psychopathic!"

Spock stared steadily back at him. But for as expressionless as his face was, carefully controlled anger was clear in his response: "As you so often make note of, I am not human, Doctor McCoy." Neither man moved an inch, tension flashing between them.

"And I'm glad for it," growled the doctor. "For as much as you talk of duty, you have no concept of duty to your fellow man. And maybe that's exactly why--you _have_ no fellow man. We're not like you, the men who are fighting to _survive_ out there aren't like you, they're just human. And that makes us expendable."

"The disdain, Doctor," replied Spock, his voice low, "with which you speak of me indicates that it is you who is prejudiced against those different from yourself." But something in his tone indicated that McCoy's words had cut deeply.

McCoy, to his credit, noticed this immediately. He looked away, shaking his head. "What are we doing, Spock?" he asked quietly, the exhaustion both men were feeling clear in his voice. He sighed. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean what I said, it's just--those are living beings out there, Spock. They're people. And I can't sit around and let people suffer. I'm a doctor--it goes against everything I am." He looked up at Spock again.

"I know it isn't logical to try to save everyone, but I have to do it. I owe it to them to try, at least. Their lives are worth just as much as mine." Perhaps it was a trick of the fading light, but his eyes gleamed as he spoke; his voice, certainly, was thick with emotion. He was silent for a moment, made up his mind, and plunged onward. "And yours is too, Spock."

Spock's eyebrows raised ever so slightly, in what McCoy had come to recognize as the Vulcan's own version of surprise.

"Which is why I'm not going to make you come with me. I can't force you to risk your life in a blind search for people we might not ever find. But I'm going. And unless you want to stop me by force--which I know you won't--then there's nothing you can do about that." Breathing just a touch too heavily, McCoy stood resolutely and waited for Spock's reply.

Spock heard the conviction in the doctor's words, and knew the man was right: there would be no convincing him. Briefly, Spock contemplated stunning him, but their phasers were precious resources and could not be wasted. A Vulcan neck pinch would be temporarily effective, but Spock knew that at his earliest opportunity, McCoy would escape nevertheless. And, as under no circumstances could Spock allow McCoy to venture off alone, there was only one logical way forward.

"Very well," said Spock, "I shall come with you."

McCoy's expression of surprise was considerably less subtle than his companion's had been.

"I remind you," Spock added, already beginning to walk down the slope in the direction the scouting party had gone, "that compared to that of humans, Vulcans have superior eyesight. As it is now quite dark, I recommend you follow me."

Bewildered and once again muttering under his breath, the frazzled McCoy hurried to keep up.


	2. Chapter 2

Several hours passed with hardly a word between the two. Relying mostly on the tricorder and Spock's advanced hearing, they made their way towards where they best guessed the scouting party would have gone, paying close attention for any shouts that might have been carried by the wind. But as the night grew steadily colder and darker, the chances of finding the other crewmembers in time to save them shrank to almost nothing.

McCoy sat down in a tuft of grass, legs aching, but unwilling to give up so soon. He didn't know any of the scouting party personally--or at least, very well--but he knew that they were resourceful and dedicated. He knew they were thoroughly trained Starfleet officers. And he knew their names: Barnes, Tucker, Chase, Scapone, Durhill. That alone was enough to keep him going. And knowing that their time in the Academy had prepared them to adapt to unforseen circumstances was enough to keep him hopeful that he and Spock might find some of them alive.

Spock, having noticed that McCoy had stopped following, was standing motionless several feet ahead. His stamina was far greater than the doctor's, and he was more accustomed to such rigorous exercises--but even he was beginning to feel drained. The terrain had become easier to traverse, resembling plains now rather than mountains, but the tall grass made disguising hostile movements much easier, and Spock had to be constantly alert. Worse yet, neither he nor the doctor had had anything to eat or drink for nearly a full solar cycle--and even a Vulcan will tire when not sufficiently fueled.

Suddenly, Spock looked up sharply. The wind had died down just enough that he could pick up a very faint sound: the trickle of a stream. He roused McCoy, who had apparently fallen asleep. "Doctor, there is water nearby. That would be a more suitable place to rest," he said, touching McCoy's shoulder.

McCoy sat upright abruptly. "What? Resting? We've got to--those people are still out there, we--" He cut himself off, blinking rapidly, trying to get his bearings. As his vision cleared and he realized he'd been laying on the ground, it struck him: "I passed out, didn't I?" 

A brief once-over of himself and Spock confirmed his appraisal. "Makes sense. We're exhausted, and we're both thoroughly dehydrated. You're right, Spock," he added, rising with some effort, "water is exactly what the doctor ordered." 

He started forward, stumbled, and stopped, struggling to keep his balance. Spock looked at him, to all appearances expressionless as always; but if McCoy had seen him clearly in the dark, he would have noticed sympathy in the Vulcan's eyes. As it was, Spock simply stood next to the doctor expectantly. McCoy realized what Spock was waiting for, and though he was reluctant to accept the help, he gripped as firmly as he could onto his companion's steady shoulder.

After a few minutes of labored walking, the two men made it to the stream. A brief tricorder scan confirmed it was safe to drink, and with thinly disguised eagerness, they both drank their fill of the fresh running water. McCoy splashed some of the cold droplets on his face, trying to shake the last of his tiredness away, but as the wind began again he shivered and dried his face quickly to save what warmth he could. He tried not to think about how cold Spock must be, accustomed as he was to the desert heat of his home planet. But for the moment, Spock remained stoically unaffected, glancing up and down the banks for any signs of their crewmates. There were none immediately visible, and he sat down, reclining on the gentle slope. McCoy followed his lead, putting his hands behind his head and looking up at the sky.

"Sure is pretty, ain't it?" he said softly. The breeze whispered as though in agreement. "No matter where we go, in all the universe, when you look up at the stars, they're always beautiful."

"Indeed," came Spock's quiet reply. "They are quite beautiful."

McCoy hummed approvingly. "See, Spock," he said, still gazing at the sparkling sky, "you and I may not see eye to eye on everything, but we agree on the important things."

"I concur, Doctor McCoy," said the Vulcan. "That we do."

They were silent after that, and when the time came to begin moving again, they stood in unison. As the sky began to lighten and the stars faded back into obscurity, they picked up what little equipment they had and headed further down the stream.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you're enjoying it so far! I'm trying to keep it feeling close to an authentic TOS episode. Please let me know what you guys think!


	3. Chapter 3

Dawn broke on a thoroughly disheartened McCoy. There had still been no sign of the lost scouting party, there had been no further communication from the Enterprise, and they were to all appearances still no closer to getting off the horribly empty planet. Agitated, he flipped open his communicator and tried once again to reach someone.

"Doctor McCoy to Enterprise, come in. McCoy to Enterprise, we are in need of assistance. Repeat, we are still in need of assistance." A click. "McCoy to Lieutenant Barnes, can you read me? This is Doctor McCoy to Lieutenant Barnes, can you please indicate your location?" Another click. "Doctor McCoy to--"

"Doctor McCoy!" came the response. "Thank God, this is Barnes! Barnes to Doctor McCoy, we are about five miles south of the outcropping where you and Commander Spock had been!"

McCoy nearly dropped his communicator. Even Spock seemed a bit astonished. Fumbling with it rapidly, McCoy shot back, "Barnes, this is Mccoy; I read you loud and clear. What's your status? Are you alright?"

A heart-stopping fizzle of static, and then the crisp reply: "We're all alright, sir. Severely disoriented, but alright. We'll wait here for you and Commander Spock to arrive!"

McCoy started to smile, but stopped, hesitating a moment before sending back, "Glad to hear it, Lieutenant. We're on our way. Sit tight!" He shut his communicator and looked at Spock intently, a hint of apprehension on his face. "Did you notice that, Spock?"

Spock paused, and nodded, considering. "Perhaps it was simply an assumption, but you gave no indication to Lieutenant Barnes that I am currently with you."

McCoy pondered his communicator. "She also seemed to know we were already headed out to them. She said 'we'll wait for you to arrive', 'where you and Commander Spock had been'--but if I had listened to you, we wouldn't be arriving. We'd still be sat up tight where they left us. So why was she so certain that we'd be out and about?" He looked at Spock, who seemed concerned in his own way. "Maybe it's just a gut feeling, but I don't like it."

Spock assented. "It is possible that in her eagerness for rescue, Lieutenant Barnes made statements that seemed overly confident, but in actuality are no cause for alarm. However, I note that she described the group as severely disoriented, but gave a relatively precise description of their location. Additionally, she gave no indication of why they were, and are, incapacitated. What exactly do they need rescuing from?" Spock folded his hands behind his back, his brow furrowed slightly. "Given these inconsistencies, and how little we know of the situation, it would be logical to exercise caution."

McCoy smirked slightly. "Glad to hear it's more than a gut feeling," he said, "but part of me wishes that's all it was." His face slipped back into seriousness.

"Well, Doctor," replied Spock, "you are aware that I do not hold 'gut feelings' in particularly high regard. Since there is some logical base for our concern, we are at least spared the trouble of arguing over it." McCoy glanced at him, surprised--was that a twinkle in his eye? He couldn't tell, as the Vulcan looked away and started walking before he could get a good look. McCoy let out an amused breath--for as much as Spock asserted he didn't have feelings, he sure did know how to lift McCoy's spirits.

He jogged to catch up with the first officer, who seemed to be moving at a bit of a faster clip. "I take it we're in a bit more of a hurry?" he asked, already slightly winded. He was painfully reminded that, although staying near the stream had provided them water, neither Spock nor himself had eaten since they had left the Enterprise.

"As we have no information on where the scouting party was when they were first attacked, I find it prudent to minimize the amount of time we are out in the open. In our weakened states, we are particularly vulnerable, and we are growing steadily weaker."

"You got that right," huffed McCoy, struggling to match Spock's pace. "How close are we to the spot Barnes said we'd find them?"

"Lieutenant Barnes indicated they were approximately five miles south of our original camp. I estimate that we have travelled nearly seven miles southwest over the course of our search; in order to minimize the amount of time spent backtracking and away from the river--"

"Spock," McCoy cut in, "just--how much more walking do we have to do?"

"It should be no more than four hours."

McCoy groaned.

"The terrain is easier here, but given that we must travel slowly to look for any signs of the crew, and additionally because you are tired--"

" _I'm_ tired?" shouted McCoy indignantly. "Oh, I like that! _I'm_ tired! I don't see that Vulcan stamina of yours putting too much distance between you and me!"

"Doctor," replied his ever-patient companion, "that is because I am waiting for you."

"Bullshit," grumbled McCoy. "I may be old, but I'm not decrepit. I'm a doctor, dammit, I know when I'm in shape and when I'm not!" Spock found it a sufficient reply to simply listen to the muttering, but privately noted, with his usual subtle amusement, that the doctor's pace did seem to increase slightly after that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was fun to write! I'm super excited to see what things look like as they play out from here! (Also, please don't kill me about hiking times if you know anything about them 😂 I tried to make them as accurate as I could given what I know about hiking in rough terrain, but just remember, they're exhausted and this is fiction lol 😂)


	4. Chapter 4

By the time the two men stopped next, the sun was high overhead. With little cover to be found for miles, it beat down on them--perhaps a welcome reprieve from the chill of night for the Vulcan, but yet another hindrance to his human counterpart. Spock glanced over at the exhausted Doctor McCoy; he was paler than usual, and seemed almost feverish. He was severely dehydrated, certainly, and the lack of nourishment was no aid to his stamina. But Spock suspected that a growing sense of hopelessness was another ailment to the doctor. Hope was a peculiarly effective stimulant, and with no observable signs of life for miles, it was sorely lacking.

Indeed, even Spock was growing concerned that their mission would prove fruitless. They had scoured the nearby area, searching for any remnant of the crew, but despite following the directions Lieutenant Barnes had given them, there was nothing to be found. Spock sat, more heavily than he intended, and gazed toward the distant, unforgiving horizon.

Next to him, McCoy slumped against a boulder, blinking rapidly. The sun seemed to be glaring right into his eyes, despite the fact that he was shielding them with his hand. After angrily shifting position and finding no improvement, he snapped, "Damnit, Spock, are you seeing that?"

Spock looked at McCoy, his eyebrows slightly furrowed. "Are you alright, Doctor?" he asked, the faintest note of concern creeping into his voice.

"Of course I'm alright!" McCoy shot back. "There's just this--this reflection of some sort that I can't seem to get out of my eye. I don't know where it's coming from--you're really not seeing that?"

Spock hesitated a moment before responding. "I am not," he said. "I suggest we make our way towards the water; it is possible that some rest may ameliorate your condition."

McCoy glared at him. "We don't have time to rest. In case you've forgotten, there are men out there who might be dying. We should keep looking." He struggled to his feet, unsteady.

"I remind you, Doctor," said Spock, standing as well, "that we have already thoroughly searched this area. While, in our weakened states, it is possible that we failed to observe some trace of the crew, it is highly improbable that we shall find them here." He looked at McCoy steadily. "When we are beamed aboard the Enterprise, we may then be able to use its scanning abilities to locate them; however, continuing to search now will only weaken and endanger us further."

"So be it, then!" shot back McCoy. "It can't put us in any more danger than the rest of the crew is already in." He took a step towards the silent Vulcan. "We can't give up now, Spock, not when we're so close!" There was a tinge of desperation in his voice. "We've got to find them. At the very least, we've got to try."

Spock's reply was somber. "Doctor, you are ill. It is illogical to continue searching while you are impaired."

"What do you mean, impaired?" snarled McCoy. He tried to continue, but Spock cut him off. 

"You are hallucinating. You are severely dehydrated and have not eaten in quite some time. Your pulse is elevated and weak, and you are feverish and pale. You are clearly exhausted, and additionally, you are exceedingly irritable and emotional." Spock allowed a hint of his own irritation to slip through as he stared down McCoy. "Do these symptoms strike you as familiar, Doctor?"

McCoy's mouth opened slightly, then closed. He looked away.

"Maybe you're right," he said begrudgingly, a steady beat of anger under his words. "That does sound a lot like heatstroke. But I'll remind you, Mr. Spock, that I am the medical man between us. And for as much as you know about the human physique," he spat, turning towards Spock again, "you know nothing about the human spirit."

He stared into the unmoving Vulcan eyes, resolute and furious. "I am going to find those men, and I don't care if it kills me. I owe it to them! I owe it to myself as a doctor! And I owe it to Jim," he said, putting a biting emphasis on the name, and watched, satisfied, as he saw the Vulcan flinch ever so slightly. "I owe it to Jim to find and protect his crew at any and all costs."

Spock stood silently and looked at McCoy, who looked right back. Neither man moved. Indeed, they hardly breathed.

"Now," said McCoy quietly, "you can help me keep looking. Or you can abandon your duty to your captain and his crew. What'll it be?"

"Doctor," replied Spock, his voice carefully even, "I am afraid I cannot allow you to endanger yourself in this way."

McCoy stiffened. "What do you mean, Spock?"

"Our crewmates may not have survived for such an extended period of time. We, however, are still alive--at least presently. To risk our lives further on their behalf is to jeopardize the only chance of successfully retrieving them. I cannot allow you to do that." Spock's face was grave and stern, and McCoy was struck by the strength of conviction in his voice.

McCoy seemed about to respond, when he abruptly squinted and put his hand to his eyes. "Spock," he sputtered, looking over his companion's shoulder, "it's that blasted glare again. It seems closer, somehow. Turn around, do you see that?"

Spock blinked in surprise and pivoted to face where McCoy had indicated. After a moment, he turned back to the doctor. "No," he said, a faint note of skepticism in his voice. "I do not see anything."

As he turned around, McCoy fainted.

Then, he disappeared.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took me so long to update this! I am definitely going to keep working on it (and finish it, at some point), but with school and everything the past few months have been crazy. Anyways, let me know what you think! I'll try to update it again soon!


End file.
